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THE AUTHENTICITY OF JESUS CHRIST AND THE NEW TESTAMENT Name Course Date Question One The most viable argument that can be employed to authenticate the historical existence of Jesus Christ is reference to Jesus from pagan writings. Arguably, evidence from such scripts can be deemed credible since they are free from possible Christian exaggeration. Key among the non-Christian authors that are believed to be the first to mention Jesus Christ in his writings is the first-century Jewish historian Josephus. In fact, it is Josephus who recorded the siege of Jerusalem by Roman Armies as recorded in Luke 21:20. According to Josephus, this historical event transpired in 70 AD and was executed by a Roman commander, Titus. Indeed, just as Jesus had prophesied decades earlier, the Roman army destroyed the temple of Jerusalem such that no stone as left on top of each other (Luke 29:6). Other historians that affirmed the existence of Jesus include Roman politicians Pliny and Tacitus who lived during the early second century. According to Tacitus, Jesus was executed when Pontius Pilate and Tiberius reigned in Judaea. Relating these pagan statements to Luke 3:1, a striking similarity is noted. On the other hand, Pliny asserts that in Turkey, Christians worshipped Christ as a god. The fact that none of the two pagan politicians was a Christian or liked Christianity affirms that Jesus Christ was indeed a historical figure. Additionally, all these non-Christian authors wrote their accounts during the same century Jesus is ‘claimed’ to have lived on earth. Arguably, that was such a short duration that it was practically impossible for these authors to be unconversant with the
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